Cambridge, UK, 2 July 2018 – Crescendo Biologics Ltd (Crescendo), the drug developer of novel, targeted T-cell engaging therapeutics, today announces that Igor Matushansky, MD, PhD, has been appointed as Non-Executive Director of the Company with immediate effect.

Igor is currently Chief Medical Officer and Global Head of R&D at Hookipa Biotech AG (Hookipa), a clinical stage immuno-therapy biotech. Prior to Hookipa, Igor was the Global Head of Translational Development for Oncology at Daiichi Sankyo, where he focused on early oncology therapeutic programmes, strategy and development. Prior to that, Igor was at Novartis where he was the Global Head for Clinical and Scientific Development at its Gene & Cell Therapy Unit as well as a Global Clinical Program Lead within Novartis’ Oncology Translational Medicine Unit.
Before moving into the pharmaceutical industry in 2010, Igor was a Professor at the Columbia University Medical Center where he ran an independent laboratory and clinic focusing on the molecular biology, translational opportunities and clinical trials in sarcomas. Currently Igor is an Adjunct Professor of Medical Oncology at Columbia University.
He previously received his MD and PhD in Molecular Biology from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. He performed his Internal Medicine residency at New York Presbyterian Hospital – Weill Cornell Medical Center and then completed a fellowship in Medical Oncology and a post-doctoral research fellowship in Cancer Biology at the Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.
Kevin Johnson, Chairman of the Board of Directors at Crescendo Biologics, said:
“Igor has led oncology R&D units at large pharma companies, Daiichi Sankyo and Novartis, as well as at biotech, Hookipa. He has unique immuno-oncology expertise which makes him the ideal addition to the Board. With this appointment, Crescendo has further strengthened its expertise in clinical development and its position at the forefront of next generation immuno-oncology therapy companies.”
Igor Matushansky, Non-Executive Director, also commented:
“Crescendo is developing a very exciting and novel class of targeted biologics that hold real promise in the treatment of solid tumours. These multi-specific, minimally-sized Humabody® products are highly differentiated from conventional antibodies and have the potential to revolutionise cancer medicine. Crescendo’s recent $70 million Series B enables it to drive its lead programmes into the clinic and I look forward to being part of this real success story.”

About Crescendo Biologics
Crescendo Biologics is a biopharmaceutical company developing potent, truly differentiated Humabody® therapeutics in oncology with a focus on innovative targeted T-cell approaches.
Leading its proprietary pipeline, Crescendo Biologics has developed CB307, a novel bispecific PSMA-targeted T-cell engager for the selective activation of tumour-specific T-cells exclusively within the tumour microenvironment, thereby avoiding systemic toxicity. This highly modular format can be re-configured to create a pipeline of multiple therapeutic candidates each treating a different cancer indication, by targeting any of a range of alternative tumour-specific markers.
The Company’s ability to develop multi-functional Humabody® therapeutics is based on its unique, patent protected, transgenic mouse platform generating 100% human VH domain building blocks (Humabody® VH). These robust molecules can be configured to optimally engage therapeutic targets delivering novel biology and superior bio-distribution. This results in larger therapeutic windows compared to conventional IgG approaches.
Crescendo Biologics is pursuing novel Humabody®-based product opportunities, through in-house development and strategic partnerships, including multi-functional immuno-oncology modulators and Humabody® drug conjugates (HDCs), the next generation of ADCs. Humabody®-based formats can also be applied across a range of non-cancer indications.
Crescendo Biologics is located in Cambridge, UK, and is backed by blue-chip investors including Sofinnova Partners, Andera Partners, IP Group, Takeda Ventures, Quan Capital, Astellas and EMBL ventures.
For more information, please visit the website: www.crescendobiologics.com.